THROW ASIDE YOUR GARMENT
When the weather gets warmer, we can finally not wear our coats. I love that time of year! The coat is such a burden to wear, keep track of and put back on to go outside. In Mark 10:46-52, we read of a blind man who had an outer garment and he threw off his garment. It is lengthy but bear with me. Notice the underlined sections. There is a lot we can get out of this passage of scripture about the garment or garments that we are wearing.
“Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ So, Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer, Rise, He is calling you.’ And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus. So, Jesus answered and said to him, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’ the blind man said to Him, ‘Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.’ Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.’ And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.”
This poor man was a blind beggar who sat by the side of the road. Can you even begin to imagine how he must have felt? There are four things that I want us to think about from this scripture.
- He was begging by the side of the road. When he heard Jesus was coming by, he cried out to Him. He addressed Jesus as the “Son of David.” I wonder why he did not say Son of Joseph? This man had heard of Jesus and believed in Him being the Messiah, the promised deliverer. It is amazing that this man could clearly recognize Jesus even when he was blind. This blind man has spiritual insight, while many who could see, including religious leaders, were spiritually blind! Which one are you like? Are you blind to the fact that Jesus is our Savior? Or are you calling out to Jesus?
- The crowd warned him to be quiet. They felt like he was making a scene. They did not see him as being important or worthy enough to have Jesus’ time. These people felt like he was a nobody. But then when Jesus stopped and told them to bring this man to Him, I think it is kind of funny that they change their tune really quickly! Jesus recognized this man as truly “getting” who He was and what He was here on this earth to do. No matter who he was or what he was doing physically, Jesus saw him as important and worthy of His attention. Do you feel unwanted, not important, tossed aside, beyond help, or do you realize that God loves you and He knows how many hairs are on your head? He puts your tears in a bottle. (Psalm 56:8) Like everyone else, you are important to God.
- Jesus asked him what he wanted. Jesus already knew who he was and what he wanted, but Jesus wanted him to vocalize it. He needed to put some action into his physical healing. We, also, need to put action into our physical and spiritual healing. We need to reach out to Jesus, just like Bartimaeus did. We can’t just sit blinded by our lack of faith. Our faith requires action. Did you see in the passage that Jesus immediately healed him? Do you have the faith that God can take care of you, that He just wants us to reach out to Him in faith and meditation of the scriptures? God is always just a thought away from us. He is ready to get you out of those earthly things that are holding you back from your purpose! We just have to ask.
- Bartimaeus threw aside his garment. In Bible times, the government gave a person a special garment to wear if they were legitimately disabled, showing that he was approved to sit and beg. This was kind of like the special attire worn by a nurse or policeman that identifies who they are. This garment was important, valuable to a beggar like him. He had to get rid of that garment in order to move forward. Do you wear a garment like this blind beggar did? We have to throw off our cloak of feeling sorry for ourselves-that we are not good enough-we will never amount to much-offended by someone and we have become bitter-we had a bad childhood and use that as an excuse-we cannot get out of that bad relationship or addiction-stuck in that job that is taking you down mentally and physically-we are stuck in the past thinking that we cannot throw off those barriers of our past in order to move forward to our future. We need to put action and throw off those “garments” that are holding us back from our God given purpose!
Do you have a “garment” holding you back from your God given purpose? Do you hang onto it and not throw it off like Bartimaeus did? Are you as a family member or friend, enabling them to hang onto their past and telling them they are ok to hold onto that, instead of helping them throw it away? We need to get away from those negative voices that are keeping us stuck in the past and not reaching out for the future! Rather, listen to Gods’ words in scripture, that with Him we can accomplish anything-we are important and good enough-we can change and move forward not backward-we don’t have to be stuck in the past. It is possible, we just have to reach out to Him. We have to put action into the healing. We need to be so thankful that we can go to God in prayer, talk to our Father and let him know specifically what our heart desires.
2 Corinthians 5:7 tells us that “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” Bartimaeus truly did that didn’t he? Don’t let negative voices tell us that we cannot get out of the happenings of the past! We have to have faith, even when we cannot see, that God can help us throw off those heavy “garments” that hold us down from getting up and going forward into our future. Our faith can open doors we never imagined for our future we just have to press forward!
At the end of the scripture above, it tells us that Bartimaeus followed Jesus. We have to stand firm in our faith and know that God is there for us, we just have to reach out to Him and keep Him in our hearts.
Do you have a “heavy garment” holding you back from the future? Throw it off and walk into your future following God! Throw aside your garment!
Till next time!
Keela